Helen Keller smiling

Who was Helen Keller?

Helen Keller is considered by many to be a leading effigy of the twentieth century. When she was an baby, illness robbed her of her vision and hearing. Thanks to the pioneering strategies adult by Perkins' first director, Samuel Gridley Howe, and the tenacity of Perkins alumna, Anne Sullivan, she became the world's best known private with deafblindness.

Today, she is still regarded equally ane of the most powerful and well-known advocates for people who are blind and deafblind. Her books and speeches have inspired millions including many well-known individuals such as Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels, Ronald Reagan and Eleanor Roosevelt. Through her tireless efforts, she transformed the way the world viewed people with disabilities.

Where was Keller born?

A very healthy infant, Keller was born June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, to retired Army Captain Arthur Keller and his second married woman, Kate. Keller had a younger blood brother, Phillips Brooks, and a sister, Mildred. Her begetter was a cotton wool plantation owner and the editor of a popular news weekly, The North Alabamian. She lived a full life of 87 years, dying on June ane, 1968.

How did Keller become deafblind?

At the age of 19 months, Keller became very ill with a high fever, leaving her totally deaf and blind. Doctors at that time diagnosed information technology equally "brain fever." Experts today believe she suffered from reddish fever or meningitis.

How did Keller communicate with others?

By age 7, Keller had developed well-nigh 60 hand gestures to communicate with her parents and ask for things. Even so, she was often frustrated by her inability to express herself. With the assistance of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller learned the manual alphabet and could communicate by finger spelling.

Within a few months of working with Sullivan, Keller's vocabulary had increased to hundreds of words and simple sentences. Sullivan too taught Keller how to read braille and raised type, and to print block letters. By historic period 9, Keller began to acquire to speak and read lips, skills she continued to develop throughout her lifetime.

Who was Anne Sullivan?

Anne Sullivan was Keller's instructor, companion and friend for nearly fifty years. Sullivan was born April xiv, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, to poor Irish immigrants. At the age of v, Sullivan contracted trachoma, a contagious conjunctivitis that attacks the eyes, and was left nearly entirely blind. She subsequently received several eye operations that restored some of her vision. After graduating class valedictorian from Perkins School for the Blind in 1886, she moved to Tuscumbia, Alabama, to go Keller'due south instructor. Sullivan remained with Keller until her expiry on October 20, 1936.

Where did Keller nourish schoolhouse?

Keller attended Perkins School for the Blind for four years. She then spent a year at the Cambridge Schoolhouse for Young Ladies to prepare for Radcliffe Higher. In 1904, she graduated cum laude from Radcliffe and became the commencement person with deafblindness to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, Keller was the first woman to be awarded an honorary caste from Harvard University. She also received honorary degrees from Temple Academy and the Universities of Glasgow, Scotland; Delhi, Bharat; Berlin, Federal republic of germany; and Witwatersrand and Johannesburg, Due south Africa.

What subjects did Keller written report?

Keller was an avid reader and follower of politics and world events. Among her favorite books were philosophy texts and volumes of verse. She also enjoyed studying history and economics as well as strange languages including French, Latin and German.

Later on completing school, what did Keller do?

Keller used her education and influence to help improve the lives of others. She published several books and essays most her own life and views and spent much of her time lecturing and lobbying for important social problems including women's suffrage and aid for people who were bullheaded and deafblind. Keller also performed vaudeville and had a taste of Hollywood, making two movies about her life, "Deliverance" and "The Unconquered." Much of Keller'due south later years were spent traveling around the world, raising money and awareness for the bullheaded and other social issues.

Did Keller ever marry?

No, although she was briefly engaged and had many admirers. Keller'due south teacher and lifetime companion Sullivan did marry, however, and Keller lived with Sullivan and her hubby, John Macy.

Did Keller see anyone famous?

Keller made several famous friends and acquaintances. Among her friends were author Mark Twain and inventor Alexander Graham Bong. Keller too met Charlie Chaplin, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martha Graham, India's onetime Prime Minister Nehru, the Queen of England, and 12 U.S. presidents, from Grover Cleveland to John F. Kennedy.

What kind of causes and charities did Keller advocate for?

Keller worked for a variety of causes during her life. She was an outspoken suffragist, an advocate of worker's rights and an opponent of child labor, merely she is all-time known for her delivery to improving the quality of life for people who are blind and deafblind. As a student at Perkins, she initiated and ran fundraising campaigns to establish a Perkins kindergarten for the blind and to pay for the education of Tommy Stringer, a poor boy with deafblindness whom she met.

As an adult, she lobbied for programs for the prevention of blindness, laws for the education and protection of the blind and deafblind, also every bit land-assisted programs to help people with disabilities with task training and placement.

Did Keller receive any awards?

Keller received numerous awards throughout her life for her humanitarian efforts. In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson awarded Keller the highest American honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On the 50th anniversary of her graduation from Radcliffe College, she received the Alumnae Achievement Award. Radcliffe also dedicated the Helen Keller Garden in her honor and named a fountain in the garden for her teacher Anne Sullivan. Keller subsequently received Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross, the Philippines' Golden Middle, Japan's Sacred Treasure, and in 1991, was named 1 of the about important people of the twentieth century past Life mag.

Who assisted Keller afterwards Sullivan died?

Later on Sullivan passed away in 1936, Polly Thomson, who had worked in the Keller household since 1914, became Keller'due south aide. Thomson passed away in 1960 and Winifred Corbally, a nurse-companion, assisted Keller until Keller's death in 1968.

How can I learn more nigh Keller?

Keller published many articles, essays and books. Amid them are ii autobiographies, The Story of My Life and Midstream: My Afterwards Life, and a biography of her life with Sullivan called Teacher: Anne Sullivan. She also published "Optimism: An Essay," "The World I Live in," "The Song of the Stone Wall," "Out of the Dark," "My Religion," "Peace at Eventide," "Helen Keller in Scotland," "Helen Keller's Journal," "Permit Usa Accept Organized religion" and "The Open up Door."

Among the many biographies are Helen and Teacher: The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash and Helen Keller: A Life by Dorothy Herrmann.

In addition, the movie "The Miracle Worker" was released in 1962 and was remade for television set in 2000. "The Miracle Worker" chronicles many of the challenges and triumphs during Keller'due south youth. Anne Bancroft won an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Sullivan. Patty Knuckles played the function of Keller and also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Both actresses besides starred in the Broadway version.